1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a partition wall for wet chambers and more particularly refers to a new and improved partition wall having several slidable wall panels with each panel suspended in an upper guide rail and guided at its lower end in a lower guide member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A partition wall for wet chambers, particularly for bathrooms or stall showers with several wall panels which are slidable either with each other or with respect to each other is known. Partition walls of this type serve as water splash protection in bathrooms or in saunas, for example, and in particular are used as shielding placed on the edge of bathtubs or shower tubs.
A known partition wall of this type as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,500,481 has a closed lower guide member which can possibly be a part of the frame of the tub. It is also generally known to place this guide member onto the edge of the tub, for example, at the installation of the partition at a later date. The known guide member shows "cascade-like" guide rails i.e. the guides are arranged in steps slanting down towards the side of the tube for preventing the escape of water spray into the dry room. To stabilize the slidable wall panels against forces perpendicular to the plane of the panel, they are provided at their lower ends with rollers which are secured on studs, with their turning axes parallel to the wall panels and guided in U-shaped guide rails in the lower guide member which rails are open toward the bottom. If the number of sliding wall panels is increased, the studs which carry the guide rollers get longer accordingly. Furthermore, a relatively complicated cross-section profile for the lower guide member results from the U-shaped guides which are open toward the bottom, which is undesirable with respect to cleaning of the lower guide rail.